'Radium Girl' movie shot in Lake George, Glens Falls

LAKE GEORGE — For several days last week, dozens of actors in 1920s-era costumes were seen at Lake George's Old County Courthouse and stepping into antique vehicles parked on Canada St., as scenes of the feature film "Radium Girls" was being shot in Lake George. Segments of the historical film were also shot in Ushers Park and the Wiawaka Center for Women retreat — both in Lake George — as well as the historic Shirt Factory artists complex and Haviland Cove in Glens Falls. Both Canada St. in Lake George and Lawrence St. were temporarily closed off to traffic to accommodate the respective filming sessions. "Radium Girls" depicts the fate of the female factory workers who from 1917 through the late 1920s painted the luminescent dials of watches and instruments. Told by their employers that the radioactive paint was harmless, they routinely licked their fine paintbrushes to sharpen their points — and they ingested fatal doses of radium. Their employers, however, knew that the radium-containing paint was deadly. The film explores the suffering of the women and the lawsuit they undertook in the late 1920s to recover staggering medical costs — as they were dying. The case is credited with establishing a legal precedents concerning individual workers suing their employers, and it prompted adoption of labor safety standards. The Wiawaka Center for Women was a fitting place for scenes to be filmed, as the venue — originally called the Wiawaka Holiday House — was founded in the early 1900s as a retreat for women factory workers. Radium Girls has won two grants totaling $150,000 — including the New York University/Alfred P. Sloan production grant. Directing the film is NYU graduate Virginia Mohler, who also wrote the screenplay along with Brittany Shaw. "The Radium Girls are more than a cautionary tale," Mohler said in a posting on social media. "They are an inspiration for workers and consumers everywhere to question the facts we take for granted." Mohler continues with a contemporary warning. "In today's consumer-driven marketplace, new products and technologies are introduced every day, and long-term health and environmental impacts are often only understood in retrospect — when it's too late." The film is being produced by Cine Mosaic, a boutique production company established by Lydia Dean Pilcher who has been nominated for an Academy Award for other work. Phone inquiries to production crew members were not returned. At the October Lake George town board meeting, town supervisor Dennis Dickinson noted that the production assistants objected to the music that emanated from the balcony of Duffy's Tavern on Oct. 15, as it interfered with the filming of the film across Amherst St. in the Old County Courthouse. The film crew members asked local officials to silence it, which they declined to do because it was a prime fall Saturday for Duffy's. "It was a beautiful weekend and the restaurant was two-thirds full," Dickinson said, noting the film crew had not made their filming requirements for silence known beforehand. Dickinson added that he heard the movie — which includes some local residents as actors in minor roles and as extras — is to be screened at an upcoming edition of the Sundance Film Festival. "The Radium Girls' production crew considered a lot of venues, and I'm pleased they chose Lake George," Dickinson said.

Signup for our newsletter

'Radium Girl' movie shot in Lake George, Glens Falls

COMPANY

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

SUBMISSION FORMS

BEYOND THE NEWS